E449 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




DD0DbB143ai, 






" ^ ^ ••"' <V^ <=^ *—^'' 




















» '■ ,«* 





.*■ 








^q 



^^^ 



*«. 


























^^-^^^ 















^^^,<. 






•- '-^/-o^ '.i^ia'- >^ov* 



THOUGHTS 



ON 



AMERICAN SLAVERY, 



AND ITS 



PROPOSED REMEDIES, 



BY A NORTHERNER. 



HARTFORD: 

PUBLISHED BY HENRY BENTON. 

1838. 



f/- 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838, by Henbt 
Benton, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut. 

■ 3 ST^ 



THOUGHTS ON SLAVERY. 



The present age is evidently marked with 
a redeeming spirit. As intellectual improve- 
ment progresses, and especially as the light of 
truth brightens and extends, and mankind more 
clearly understand, not only their unalienable 
rishts, but also their true interests, moral and 
physical, we may anticipate corresponding ef- 
forts for the attainment of the one, and the pro- 
motion of the other. 

But a few years since, the almost universal 
prevalence of the use of intoxicating drink, 
gave sad evidence of the bias of human nature 
to self ruin, and formed an alarming symptom 
that, on this point, "destruction and misery 



4 THOUGHllg 03f SLAVERY. 

were in its way." Now we find, at least in 
the more enlightened portions of the land, the 
current of popular sentiment setting strongly 
against all connection both in traffick and use, 
with an article which, so far from being an in- 
dispensable requisite to human happiness, is a 
relic of barbarism, and the bane of all that is 
valuable in social and domestic life. And as 
this sentiment prevails, we see proportionate ef- 
forts put forth to expel the poison from the 
community. 

But a few years ago, the representatives of 
the United States from the East, West, North, 
and South, virtually declared by their votes in 
Congress, that the purchase and possession of 
the natives of Africa and their descendants, was 
consistent with the charter of our freedom, 
which declares as the political creed of the na- 
tion that " all men are created equal ; that they 
are endowed hy their Creator with certain un- 
alienable rights ; that among these are life, 



THOUGHTS ON SLAVERY. 5 

liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.''* — 
But since experience has taught that the 
phrase " all men" in this article of the public 
faith, recognizes no exception of colour, and 
that the love of liberty glows as ardently under 
a black skin as under a white ; and particularly, 
since experience has begun to testify to the dan- 
ger as well as the injustice of trafficking in hu- 
man bones and sinews under the banner of 
freedom ; we perceive a correspondent spirit of 
reform awaking in the public mind on this 
subject. 

This is as it should be. And it were well if 
a similar spirit of reformation existed towards 
all the offences against the laws of Heaven 
which mark us as a people, and expose us to the 
divine displeasure. I know not but that the same 
hearts which swell with the feelings of reform 

* The word unalienable must obviously be used here 
in a qualified sense ; as even civil liberty itself requires these 
rights to be alienated or taken away in individual cases for 
the welfare of the community. 

1* 



O THOUGHTS ON SLAVERY. 

towards the evils v^hich have been specified, 
are equally engaged to vi^ipe away our reproach 
for the opjTression of the Indian tribes on our 
borders, by promoting repentance and restitu- 
tion — are equally zealous to redeem the ChriS' 
tian Sabbath from legalized desecration — to 
exalt the statute-book of God in our halls of le- 
gislation ; and to spread the influence of the 
gospel so extensively, that the nation may be 
brought to " beat the sword into the plough- 
share, and the spear into the pruning-hook, and 
learn war no more.'* 

One thing is certain, the spirit of reform 
which looks at national sin in all its ramifica- 
tions, and which aims to cast away from the 
midst of us all our transgressions, is the spirit 
most to be desired and cherished. An over- 
bearing zeal against some sins, while others are 
committed without compunction or restraint, is, 
at best, the mere ebullition of a temporary ex- 
citement, springing not from principle but from 
extraneous circumstances ; and proves that the 



FREE DISCUSSIOW. 7 

opposition professed, arises not from aversion 
to crime itself, but from prejudiced feelings, 
and very partial if not entirely selfish motives. 
Not that we ought to neglect all efforts to re- 
form mankind, unless we can make the refor- 
mation thorough and entire ; or that we should 
aim to abolish no crime because we cannot 
banish all. This is not the sentiment de- 
signed to be conveyed. But, that our ef- 
forts will prove suspicious and fruitless, just 
in proportion as they seem to arise from hos- 
tility to the sinner more than to his sins : — - 
from opposition to a particular modification of 
crime, more than to crime itself 

In accordance with this sentiment, it is my 
object to consider the subject of slavery, as it 
exists in our country, and the measures propo- 
sed for its abolition. And in presenting my 
thoughts on this topic, I only avail myself of 
the right of free discussion, which is now so 
loudly contended for ; and respecting which, I 
beg leave to say a word in the outset. 



8 FREE DISCUSSION. 

I understand by this right, the privilege of all 
men to publish either orally, or by the press, 
their opinions on all subjects, and the reasons 
for them ; provided that these opinions, and 
their publication, do not invade the rights of 
others. 

Suppose, for example, that a community of 
some fifty or a hundred families, united in senti- 
ment and purpose, should emigrate in a body to 
the West, and there form themselves into a 
society under certain laws or regulations, upon 
the principle of government by a majority. 
A stranger visits the town, and proposes to as- 
semble the inhabitants, and proclaim in their 
hearing sentiments diverse from their own ; 
and which they consider subversive of their 
peace and harmony. The authorities of the 
town refuse his request, and forbid the proce- 
dure. With what grace would such an indi- 
vidual demand a hearing, or raise the cry of an 
infringement of his rights ? And suppose that a 
few of the inhabitants, easily led away by eve- 



FREE DISCUSSION. 9 

ry wind of doctrine, should come forward to 
favor his application ; would this give him the 
right to be heard, against the will of the majori- 
ty ? And if, under these circumstances, he 
should persevere in obtruding himself upon 
them ; setting at defiance the expressed will of 
the community ; and that community should, 
under the excitement of the occasion, break 
through their own wholesome regulations and 
mob him ; would he be most justly deemed a 
martyr to the cause of free discussion, or a 
victim to his own rashness ? 

Again. Suppose I should proclaim to this 
community, that on a certain day or evening I 
would hold a public meeting, in which I would 
pourtray the characters of some members of 
the community, not by name, but so vividly 
that they could not be mistaken, and hold them 
up to public notoriety. The magistrates of the 
place say tome, " Sir, you must relinquish this 
purpose, and not attempt such a movement, 
otherwise you will assuredly be assaulted, and 



10 FREE DISCUSSION. 

probably abused " I reply, " Gentlemen, this 
is a land of freedom of opinion, and I, as a citi- 
zen, demand my right of free discussion, and I 
hope you will sustain me in vindicating that 
right." Does any one fail to perceive the ar- 
rogance, not to say absurdity, of such a claim ? 
And suppose, seeing my obstinate determina- 
tion to proceed, they should, in the exercise of 
the authority vested in them by law, interfere 
to prevent me from making the attempt ; with 
what propriety could I complain of persecu- 
tion? 

The right oi free discussion, then, is to be 
regulated by circumstances ; by the subject to 
be discussed, and the rights of others, and to be 
limited to that over which we have control, for 
the right to discuss implies the power to decide. 
Like the expression of private opinion, it must 
have regard to whom and of whom it is ex- 
pressed, and the time and circumstances in 
which it is uttered. And they who inflame the 
passions of a mob by the abuse of what they 



EXTENT OF THE EVIL. 



11 



call their rights on this point, ought not to com- 
plain of the consequences. But to the subject 
proposed. 

That slavery is an evil, and a threatening 
evil, it is presumed w^ill not be denied. And in 
order to a correct and practical consideration 
of this evil, it is necessary that we form a right 
judgment respecting its nature, and who are 
concerned in its guilt. Thus VfQ shall be better 
qualified to think, feel, and act upon the great 
question respecting the ways and means for its 
removal. 

Let it be observed, then, that slavery, as it 
exists in our land, is a public, and national, and 
not merely an individual or a provincial sin. 
Not many years since, the inhabitants of the 
Northern as well as Southern section of the 
country were direct partakers in it. Northern 
vessels have heretofore been extensively enga- 
ged in the slave traffick which has entailed the 
evil on the South, and many princely estates in 



12 EXTENT OF THE EVIL. 

different parts of New-England were acquired 
by the profits. 

Previous to the adoption of the Constitution 
of our country, all were involved in the pro- 
motion of this evil ; and, in the formation of the 
Union, as it now exists, the votes of the North 
and the South were equally concerned.* In 
some of the Northern states, also, slavery was 
marked with great severity. In the year 1740, 
a slave belonging in the state of New- York was 
convicted of some crime, by three justices and 
a jury of^vs, and burnt at the stake ; so severe 
were the laws of that State against slaves.f 

Slavery is an evil oi numerous and extensive 
ramifications; interwoven with some of the 
most important interests of the nation, especial- 
ly of the South and West. The commerce of 
the North is still, to a greater or less extent, 

* See Art. I. Sec. 3, and Art. IV. Sec. 2, of the Consti. 
tution of the U. S. 

t Judge Daggett's charge, at the trial of Miss Crandall, 
Oct. 1833. 



EXTENT OF THE EVIL. 13 

employed in the transportation of the products 
of slave labor. Indigo, cotton, rice, tobacco, 
sugar, molasses, &c. &c., have become impor- 
tant articles of commerce to every portion of 
the country. "So long as our confederacy 
exists," says a late advocate of immediate abo- 
lition, "a commercial intercourse with slave 
states, and a consumption of their products can- 
not be avoided." In the collection of debts, al- 
so, the property in slaves is recognized by 
Northern as well as by Southern traders ; and 
as such, slaves have been attached by Northern 
creditors to secure payment. 

In the slave-holding states especially, is this 
evil entwined about all the interests of civil and 
domestic life. It has been transmitted from 
generation to generation ; and those who are 
now its more immediate inheritants, feel its 
pressure heavier than did any of their ances- 
tors. But it lies at the basis of their social and 
political interests. They are all, to a greater 
or less extent, born the constituted guardians, 



14 EXTENT OF THE BViL. 

as well as the possessors of the coloured popu- 
lation ; and as such, are involved in duties and 
cares of which they can no more divest them- 
selves, while holding that relation, than those 
who are parents can throw off the duties and 
cares involved in the parental relation. 

Nor is it an easy matter to abolish, at once, 
the relation thus existing between the master 
and slave, consistently with the welfare of both. 
Its roots have so entwined themselves around 
the foundations of almost all that is " lovely and 
of good report" in the community, that in 
their eradication, there is, to say the least, a 
possibility of uprooting also the wheat with 
them. 

It has become customary with those who are 
endeavouring to pourtray the sin and guilt of 
slavery in its darkest shades, to compare it to 
the sin of intemperance, and argue from the 
supposed analogy, the duty of imsiediate 
EMANCIPATION. The forcc of such reasoning 
is quite imperceptible, because no such analogy 



EXTENT or THE EVIIi. 15 

exists in the nature and circumstances of the 
two evils ; the one being a matter of individual 
appetite, and habit, which may be controlled, 
and the traffic pursued or abandoned at the op- 
tion of the individual concerned in it ; while 
the other depends for its remedy, on the com- 
bined will of the whole community, expressed 
through their legal representatives. 

I admit, that, taking the abstract principle of 
sin merely, in the two cases, and reasoning 
from it on the extent of the guilt connected with 
each respectively, we may frame a specious 
argument to suit a purpose. Thus it has been 
argued, that as those who traffic in, or use 
intoxicating drink, are viewed as accessories to 
the sin of drunkenness and its results, and in- 
volved in its guilt : so are not only slave-hold- 
ers guilty, but all who traffic in and consume 
the products of slave-labor, are accessories to 
the sin of slavery. 

As I shall have occasion again to advert to 
this mode of reasoning, I will merely observe 



16 EXTENT OP THE EVIL. 

here, that, supposing it correct, it serves to 
show the extent of the evil — that slavery, as 
it exists in our land, is peculiarly the sin of 
the nation ; and very similar in its nature to 
the sin of oppression, as it has been committed 
aorainst the aborigines of the country, in the 
violation of the most solemn compacts made 
with them; and the sin of desecrating the 
Christian Sabbath by the legalized transporta- 
tion of the public mails on that day. 

Like these, also, it is a sin of extensive rami- 
fications ; blended with the enactments of civil 
law, and involving many questions, not only of 
expediency, but of duty, in relation to its bear- 
ings upon the various departments of political 
and civil life. 

Viewed in this broad light, we shall find that 
it is an evil, the eradication or reformation of 
which, is no work of a day, or a year ; and 
that it cannot be efl^ected suddenly, but by pro- 
ducing convulsions in society, which will be felt, 



EXTENT OF THE EVII^. 17 

not merely in the South and West, but through- 
out this great republic. 

In prescribing remedies for this evil, there- 
fore, it becomes us to keep steadily in view 
its nature and extent ; its magnitude and con- 
nections ; that we may not blindly set in mo- 
tion the engines of our political destruction, 
and bury, at once, our efforts and our hopes, 
in the grave of our civil and religious as well 
as domestic happiness. On a correct and judi- 
cious estimate of the evil itself, must depend 
the efficiency or inefficiency of all plans and 
efforts for its removal. 

If we merely apply to it the abstract princi- 
ple of moral right and wrong, and call it sin, I 
am aware that nothing is more easy than to 
prescribe the cure. This, of course, is immedi- 
ate repentance. All must agree in the general 
concession, that sin, as such, is wrong, and 
ought, without delay, to be forsaken. But, to 
test the efficiency of this mode of combatting 

the evil of slavery, we have only to apply it to 

2* 



1# IT8 SIX ABSTRACTEDLY. 

the other national sins which have been men- 
tioned. 

The violation of the Sabbath by the trans- 
portation of the public mails and the attendant 
post-office duties, is a national sin, because 
sanctioned by law ; and we are all partakers in 
its guilt, as in the case of slavery. And as a 
sin against the divine law, all must admit that it 
ought immediately to be repented of and forsa- 
ken. It is more easy and practicable for post- 
masters and mail-contractors to abandon at 
once, their posts of office, than it is for the slave- 
holder immediately to emancipate his slaves. 
Both are under equal moral obligation to per- 
form their duty in the matter. 

But the work of repentance, according to 
this abstract mode of reasoning, to be thorough, 
must go further ; and extend not only to the 
immediate agents in those sins, but to all who, 
in any way participate therein. Accordingly, 
all who avail themselves, directly or indirectly, 
of the advantages of Sabbath mails, and all 



ITS SIN ABSTRACTEDLY. 19 

who in any way wink at the sin, are, so far 
from being accusers, transgressors themselves, 
and under obligations of immediate repentance. 
And who, then, is clear in this matter ? 

On the same principle, all who directly or 
indirectly avail themselves of the benefits of 
slave labor ; who traffic in or use any of the 
productions of slave countries ; or who, in any 
way, wink at the sin, are, so far from being 
rightful accusers, the transgressors themselves, 
and under obligations of immediate repentance. 
And who of us is exempt in this matter ? 

And, pursuing the same reasoning ; as the 
churches of Christ are unquestionably bound 
not to suffer sin upon their members, but to 
reprove and rebuke it ; and if still persisted in, 
to cut off the offender ; who that sustains a 
place in the visible church, has any right, on 
these abstract principles, to stand a moment, 
unless he at once break off from all direct and 
indirect participation in these national sins. 

I wish the reader to perceive the extent of 



20 ITS SIN ABSTRACTEDLY. 

the work of reformation when measured by the 
line and plummet of the law of God ; and can- 
didly to judge, whether acting according to 
what human nature ought to be, instead of 
adapting our efforts to its true character and 
condition, we can most efficiently promote a 
reformation on the subject of slavery or any 
other sin. 

If we carry this abstract principle of sin to 
its full extent, the slave-holder would not be 
exonerated even after the immediate emancipa- 
tion of his slaves ; but would stand guilty, and 
equally exposed to censure, for the incapacity 
of his slaves to provide for themselves after 
they were hberated, so far ^s that incapacity 
could be traced to their former condition. 

It is evident, therefore, that mere reasoning 
on the moral turpitude of slavery y however 
just and cogent, and the application of such 
arguments to one portion of the community 
when the whole are guilty : or in other words, 
the denunciation of one class of transgressors 



ITS SIN ABSTRACTEDLY. ^1 

by another, does not present any prospect of 
relief from the evil— any thing practicable on 
the subject : but rather tends to exasperate the 
feelings and harden the heart, and destroy all 
hope of reformation. 

With equal propriety and hope of success 
might we denounce and reason against idola- 
try, polytheism, and all sin in this ruined world, 
and proclaim the duty of immediate repent- 
ance; without showing, at the same time, a 
way of deliverance from its thraldom and 
curse. 

With equal justness, might the friends of en- 
tire abstinence from strong drink be denounced, 
because they continue to live under a govern- 
ment and laws which tolerate and sanction its 
traffick and use. 

With as much propriety and expectation of 
usefulness, might a physician denounce the im- 
prudent habits of his patient, and his guilt in 
contracting the disease under which he may be 
suffering ; and proclaim to him his moral obli- 



22 ITS eiN ABSTRACTEDLY. 

gallons to eradicate those habits ; instead of 
investigating the nature and extent of his mala- 
dy; and prescribing some practicable, though it 
might be very gradual process for his reco- 
very. 

If, then, the immediate emancipation of his 
slaves, be the moral duty of every slave-holder; 
so is the immediate renunciation of all connec- 
tion, by use or otherw^ise, w^ith the products of 
slave labor, and of all participation in the law^s 
which sanction it, the moral duty of every non- 
slave-holder in the land. And so with regard 
to every national sin. But, will the continued, 
boisterous, and I may say angry proclamation 
of this moral obligation by one class of partak- 
ers in the sin to another, while no feasible meth- 
od of relief is made known, be likely to effect a 
reformation? 

And will it not follow of course, on the 
same principle, that if the duty of immediate 
emancipation is to be so constantly and vehe- 
mently urged, the duty of immediate insurrection 



p ■■"■ 
TOLERATION OF 3IORAL EVIL. 23 

on the part of slaves ought to be ? Surely 
consistency demands it ; for if the master is liv- 
ing in sin every hour he retains possession of 
his slaves, they are sinning also in submitting to 
the oppression. 

There must then be something wrong in rea- 
soning, which will not bear thus to be extended 
in its application. 

Let us then look a little more particularly at 
this doctrine respecting the toleration of moral 
evil. And I remark, on this point, that the 
power by which moral evil is produced, is not 
usually competent to its remedy ; and, there- 
fore, however culpable for its production, is in 
vain denounced for not removing it. Is the 
same power which brought sin and death into 
the world, adequate to its immediate and entire 
removal ? 

But slavery is not only a moral, but a politi- 
cal evil. And I remark again, that in the produc- 
tion of political evils, ihe power that produces, 
cannot always remove them. An institution 



24 TOLERATION OP MORAL EVIL. 

may be chartered by legislative enactment, 
which may, in its operations and results, be 
productive of much evil to the community; 
and yet the attempt on the part of the same 
power to destroy its charter, would be deemed 
fruitful of far greater mischief. 

Nor is it true, that all who consent to act un- 
der a system of political or moral evil, neces- 
sarily approve such system, or are guilty of its 
injurious results ; though by reasoning upon the 
abstract principle of sin, as has been shown, it 
may be so made to appear. 

A foreign prince may abhor the very system 
of despotism under which he reigns ; but, at 
the same time, were he to abdicate the throne, 
he might spread tenfold more mischief through 
his empire. So that it may be his duty to con- 
tinue to sway the sceptre, and tolerate the po- 
litical system which he knows and feels to be 
wrong, that he may avoid greater evils, and 
ultimately change or modify the system itself. 

A zealous abolitionist, knowing that the con- 



TOLERATION OF MORAL EYIL. 25 

stitution and laws of the State where he resides, 
disfranchise the free coloured population within 
its limits, and even to a certain extent tolerate 
slavery ; (as do the statutes of Connecticut ;) 
may yet deem it his duty to swear allegiance 
to that constitution, and those laws, and live and 
act under their operation. But does he there- 
fore apj)rov>e of those peculiar features of the 
government, because he does not break forth 
in open hostility to them ? 

So also, an inhabitant of a State where sla- 
very exists, as in the southern section of our 
land, does not necessarily approve of slavery ^ 
nor is he entitled to the charge of fnan-stealingt 
because he lives and acts under the laws which 
sanction slavery. But he may be legally a 
slave-holder, while in principle and spirit he ab- 
hors the system, and does all that he can con- 
sistently to mitigate and change it. And I feel 
authorised to say that such cases are not rare 
in the South and West. 

Take a case in which the question of duty 
8 . 



S6 TOLERATION OF MORAL EVIL. 

with*regard to this toleration of moral evil is 
clearly presented. A family is called in the 
providence of God to remove their residence 
to one of the slave-holding States. Their her- 
itage is fallen to them there ; and on the cul- 
tivation of the farm or plantation, depends 
their subsistence. But consisting mostly of 
females, they are dependent on the aid of the 
laboring class of the community where they 
dwell. This class they find composed chiefly, 
if not entirely, of slaves. They have consci- 
entious scruples against slavery and abhor the 
system ; but unless their labor is performed, and 
at the proper season, they must be destitute of 
food and raiment. Shall they hire slaves, and 
thus throw their earnings into the pockets of 
some unkind and perhaps cruel master ; or shall 
i\iey possess them, and thus.be enabled to treat 
them with Christiaa kindness ? In either case, 
they must be connected with slavery ; as the 
laws permit no emancipated slaves to reside 



SCRIPTURE DOfWRINEi V *^ 

within the State, unless heavy bonds are given 
for their support and good behavior. 

Now it is very easy to answer, on the ab- 
stract principle of sin which we have consid- 
ered, that they ought to suffer, rather than tol- 
erate the evil. But what is the answer which 
the real circumstances of the case, under the 
existing laws of the country where they reside, 
and the golden rule of equity, would dictate? 
What answer would the great Governor of the 
universe give to this question of duty ? 

This leads me to glance at the doctrine of 
divine inspiration on this subject ; the toleration 
of moral evil : I do not mean in ourselves, but 
in others. I will not dwell upon the obvious 
truth, that Jehovah tolerates it every day. Not 
that he appro oes it. They are perfectly distinct 
things. But while sin is that "abominable 
thing which his soul hateth ;" he does not ban- 
ish it at once, as he might do ; nor does he cut 
off the sinner from the earth : but is long-suf^ 
fering and of great mercy, that he may gradu- 



2S eCRIPTURB DOCTKOB. 

ally but ultimately bring order and glory out of 
the confusion which sin has produced. He tol- 
erated many moral evils among the Jews for 
this same end. 

But to the law and the testimony. And I 
cannot select a better illustration of duty on 
this point, than the parable which was spoken 
by the Great Teacher, with particular refer- 
ence to the existence and cause of moral evil 
in the church. The caution which it contains 
is one directly applicable to the subject under 
consideration. 

The servants of a householder discovered, 
with deep regret, tares growing among the 
wlieat in one of his cultivated fields ; and with 
great zeal, proposed to their Master to permit 
them to enter immediately on the work of their 
extermination. Why should the evil be tolerated 
a momd^it ? Why should the householder delay 
an instant to remove it ? According to the rea- 
soning often employed on this subject, and to 
which I have alluded, he should have proceeded 



SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE. *9 

at once to the eradication of the tares, without 
regard to consequences. 

His reply to the proposal of his servants is 
a sufficient answer to such' reasoning, and ex- 
hibits the Saviour's doctrine on the subject. — 
" Nay ; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye 
root up also the wheat with them. Let both 
grow together until the harvest" Not that 
they were to feel satisfied to have the tares 
growing there ; they might desire and pray for 
their removal ; but they were so entwined about 
the wheat, that to eradicate them at once would 
be the destruction of both. 

The principle here set forth, and to illustrate 
which I have referred to this parable, is this : 
that there are moral evils existing under the 
divine government, the immediate removal of 
which, though desirable, would endanger the 
most vital interests of society, and be doing 
evil that good may come. 

As reasoning upon the abstract principle of 

sin, and the denunciations founded on such rea- 
3* 



30 COLONIZATION 60CIETy. 

soning, avail nothing towards rectifying the evil 
of slavery ; still more hopeless, it appears to 
me, is the attempt to promote this object by 
hostility to the American Colonization Soci- 
ety. 

What bearing the invectives which have been 
issued against that society (whether true or 
false) can have upon the object proposed, I 
have ever been at a loss to ascertain. How 
an association, whose simple design is to aid 
the free coloured population of our country in 
settling voluntarily in the land of their forefa- 
thers, and thus to promote in proportion the abo- 
lition of the slave-trade, and the civihzation 
and Christianization of Africa, should be viewed 
as standing in the way of the reformation of 
the sin of slavery, is equally unintelligible. 

If some of those who have advocated the 
interests of this society before the pubhc, have 
held it up to view in an objectionable light ; it 
is presumed there has been enough of the 
spirit of bitterness and misrepresentation on 



COLONIZATION liOCIBTY. 8l 

the other side, to destroy their prerogative of 
casting the first stone. 

But to test the reasonableness and utih'ty 
of this method of opposing slavery^ we may 
imagine the Colonization Society stricken from 
existence ; and would the evil of slavery van- 
ish any more quickly for its overthrow ? To 
say that there are members of this society who 
are slave-holders, and consequently must be its 
advocates from interested motives ; is to say no 
more than might, in substance, be said of all other 
benevolent institutions in the land, anti-slavery 
societies not excepted. It can never be a valid 
objection to an object that it is liable to perver- 
sion and abuse, unless it can also" be shown that 
its chief tendency is to such abuse. 

But so far is the Cojonization Society from 
justifying such a charge, that its general ten- 
dency has manifestly been to promote the 
emancipation of slaves, as well as the welfare of 
the free coloured population. And to denounce 
it because some contribute to its support, and 



32 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

are therefore called its members, who still up- 
hold slavery in their theory and practice ; is, as 
I remarked, to adopt a principle which would 
justify the denunciation of every association 
which receives pecuniary aid from any but the 
most pious, and disinterested portions of the 
community. 

Shall we cry " crucify it, crucify it !" against 
the Bible Society, because it enrols among its 
members those who disbelieve and reject some 
of the most important doctrines of revelation, 
if not practical deists ? 

But it may be said that the Colonization 
Society does not array itself against slavery. 
True : this is not its professed design. Neither 
does the Bible, Tract, or any of the other reli- 
gious and benevolent societies of the day. And 
what reason does this afford for special hostil- 
ity ? Are we justified in opposing the benevolent 
efforts of others, merely because they follow 
not us ? 



COLONIXATION sociETir:> 53 

Again, it will perhaps, be said, that some of 
the advocates for colonization have represented 
the system as an amfde remedy for slavery, 
and a sufficient substitute for all other plans and 
efforts ; and further, that its agents have spoken 
one language concerning it at the North, and 
another at the South.* 

To all this I take the liberty of replying 
again, that the Colonization Society, as well a 
the Anti-slavery Society, ought to be viewed 
and treated according to its professed design, 
and not according to the misdirected zeal of any 
of its friends. Now, its professed design, as 
stated by one of its opposers, in quoting its con- 
stitution, "is to colonize the free people of color 
residing among us, in Africa, or such other 
place as Congress may direct." " Steadily ad- 



« While /the British Abolitionists condemn the West India 
system of apprenticeship in aboUshing slavery, is not the 
example of Great Britain in the matter, continually held up 
before us by the abolitionists of North America ? 



84 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

he ring to this object," he adds, " it has nothing 
to do with slavery."* 

It certainly requires no uncommon mathe- 
matical acuteness to discern, that the annual col- 
onizing of nfew hundreds of our coloured popu- 
lation, can never be an adequate means of dimin- 
ishing an annual increase of some thousands : 
an idea which some have seemed to labor in- 
tensely to impress on the public mind. Nor is 
extraordinary skill at computation necessary to 
shew, that should the disposition to colonize on 
the part of the people of colour, and the dispo- 
sition to aid them in so doing on the part of the 
government, exceed their annual increase, it 
would tend in proportion to reduce their number 
among us. 

And this, it should be observed, would be 
greatly facilitated, by the colonization of that 
portion of the population, who are at a time of 
life to be fathers and mothers. For, from this 

* Whittier's Address, p. 5. 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 35 

portion alone can the annual increase be calcu- 
lated. 

Nor is there much extravagance in the be- 
lief that such an event would promote, at once, 
their political welfare and that of the country 
to which they might emigrate, by placing them 
in circumstances to form a republic of their 
own ; and, if in Africa, among a people of their 
own colour ; and by carrying civilization, at 
least, into its borders. 

"Whether or not a majority of our coloured 
population will ever consent to emigrate to the 
land of their forefathers, is of course uncertain. 
And what of this ? Must the object be abandon- 
ed because it meets not with its full success at 
the outset? Do they who so zealously ojjpose this 
design, and aim at nothing but the immediate 
liberation of the whole slave population in the 
midst of us, relinquish their efforts, or in any de- 
gree hesitate in their movements, at what might 
reasonably be deemed as difficult a problem as 
those just stated, viz. According to the ratio 



36 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

of their past success, with the aid of so viuch 
wealth, and talent, so many agents, and so much 
public excitement; how long will it require for 
the advocates of immediate abolition to effect 
the freedom of the whole slave population, in- 
eluding their annual increase ? 

I can discover no reason why, when flourish- 
ing and respectable colonies are planted on the 
African coast, our free coloured population should 
not flock thither as readily as the emigrants 
from Europe crowd to our shores, and at their 
own expense. The probability at least favors 
the experiment. 

Even with the limited resources formed by pri- 
vate contributions, the society has been enabled 
to send several expeditions to Africa. Recently 
its claims have been regarded and favored by 
several of the State legislatures : and " eman- 
cipation," says Mr. Frelinghuysen, "has follow- 
ed closely in the steps of this enterprise. Mary- 
land, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, have 
approved it. Maryland has devoted 200,000 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 87 

dollars, and Virginia 90,000 to the cause." 
"Maryland has had an agency in Africa to 
establish a colony at Cape Palmas, south of Li- 
beria ; and she avows in distinct and unequivo- 
cal terms, the noble purpose of eradicating 
slavery from her soil." 

A recent Colonization Journal from that 
State, informs us that the cause meets with 
increasing success. That " the friends of the 
cause are more numerous, and increasing in their 
liberality. In the past year, there have been 
not less than six vessels chartered, and fitted 
out with eniigrants, teachers, missionaries, and 
officers, to be borne by the winds of Providence 
to the coast of Africa." And since December, 
1831, when the colonization law was enacted, 
the number of slaves emancipated, is estima- 
ted at one thousand five hundred and eighty- 
one. 

This, then, is the way in which the Coloniza- 
tion Society, though not its avowed object, indi- 
rectly promotes the abolition of slavery ; and 
4 



38 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

if the general government, or the govern- 
ment of the States respectively, would fur- 
nish means to promote this enterprise ; and 
particularly, furnish the means to the colo- 
nists of defence against the slave-trade on the 
coast of Africa ; the day would soon dawn 
which would witness the complete triumph of 
this cause. 

When thus the contrast is presented to the 
mind of the slave-holder, between the elevated 
citizens of a colony governed by wise and 
equal laws, and free as our own ; and the degra- 
dation of the same class of minds, as held by 
him in bondage ; his reflections will prompt 
him to place those minds where they can be 
ennobled and elevated in their condition and 
prospects. 

Will it still be said that the experiment in- 
volves a sacrifice of money and life, without 
a proportionate advantage? The same bug- 
bear has been thrown in the way of all colo- 
nial enterprises ; and, had it been regarded, 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 39 

even the settlement of our own country must 
have been relinquished. 

The work of African Colonization has not 
yet been attended with the sacrifices by which 
the first colonies on our own shores were plant- 
ed—not more than were connected with the 
settlement of some of our Western States; 
e. g. Kentucky. About a moiety of the first 
emigrants to Plymouth, (Mass.) died in four 
months. Of the one hundred emigrants who 
first settled Jamestown, (Va.) ninety were cut 
ofFby disease in six months. And subsequent- 
ly the colonists at the latter place, were reduced 
in about the same short period, from^i^e hun- 
dred to sixty, by famine. Some time after this, 
when £150,000 had been expended on that col- 
ony, and nine thousand persons had emigrated 
thither, its population amounted to only eighteen 
hundred,* while out of 3300 emigrants to 
Africa, sent out by the American Colonization 
Society, only 733 have been lost in any way. 



* Report of Colonization Society, 1834. 



40 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

The incipient work accomplished by the past 
7nissionary effort, lias been attended by a simi- 
lar sacrifice of life and property. Yet no reflect- 
ing mind considers it unnecessary or unprofit- 
able. We ourselves are reaping the blessings 
resulting from similar missionary efforts and 
sacrifices in past ages. The opening of such 
enterprises, like the subduing of uncultivated 
•wilds, must be attended with much labour and 
risk, and but little, and that very gradual, ap- 
pearance of success ; which, however, will be 
proportionate to the numbers and the zeal em- 
ployed in the work. 

But the efforts of the Colonization Society 
have not been unsuccessful : nor has its success 
been small, when compared with the means 
employed, and contrasted with other similar 
enterprises. Its friends have indeed partaken 
in a proportionate degree, of the infirmities 
and proneness to err which marks all the plans 
and efforts of man. 

This, I am aware, has not escaped the notice 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 41 

of its gainsayers, who, in their vituperations, 
have manifested that they also inherit the frail- 
ties of the race. And, if I do not greatly mis- 
take, a few years to come will evince, that the 
advocates of immediate abolition, afford equal 
evidence of the truth of the poet's declaration, 
" To err is human." 

I remarked that the Colonization Society has 
done something, and done it effectually, beyond 
the power of human annihilation. Within 
eighteen years it has opened a bright spot of 
civilization on the coast of Africa, which will 
not soon again be enveloped in its former dark- 
ness. It has already caused, indirectly, the 
emancipation of more than a thousand slaves, 
and colonized about four thousand free coloured 
persons. Nine settlements, embracing that 
population, and containing fourteen schools* and 
fourteen churches where the gospel is statedly 

* One half the necessary funds have been raised for the 

establishment of a College. 

4* 



42 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

preached; with nearly twenty other public build- 
ings ; and holding friendly intercourse with the 
natives, and thus acquiring influence over them; 
bear testimony that their enterprise and their 
efforts have not been fruitless. 

It is worthy of notice that about one third of 
these colonists are emancipated slaves from the 
southern section of our country. Among them 
also, are nearly six hundred professors of 
religion, and more than five hundred members 
of the temperance society — on the principle of 
entire abstinence. 

The effect of this enterprize has been, the 
abolition of human sacrifices from among the 
natives, and, by its control of nearly four hun- 
dred miles of the coast, a proportionate dimi- 
nution of the slave traffick in that region. It 
has also opened a safe channel for Christian 
missions to Africa. 

I have already dwelt longer on this subject 
of colonization and the objections raised against 
it, than I had intended ; yet I cannot leave it. 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 43 

without adverting to a somewhat curious exem- 
phfication of this hostility in two diametrically 
opposite objections. 

The opponents of the Colonization Society 
at the North, have charged it with riveting the 
fetters of the slave by soothing the conscience 
of the slave-holder — justifying his claim of pro- 
perty in his slaves ; and enabling him to hold 
them with greater security ; and fostering the 
distinction which exists in the community be- 
tween the black man and the white. 

On the other hand, its Southern opposers 
accuse it of acting under a disguise ; and, while 
it professes to confine its operations to colo- 
nizing the free people of colour, covertly un- 
dermining the system of slavery, and slyly 
effecting the work of abolition. It is remarka- 
ble that this latter objection is peculiar to those 
portions of the South, that are most resolutely 
determined to perpetuate slavery. 

The reader, on contemplating these two an- 
tipodal objections, will very naturally recur to 



44 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

the kindred spirit and reasoning which was 
once arrayed against the perfection of purity 
and worth, human and divine. " John came 
neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He 
hath a devil. The Son of Man came eating 
and drinking, and they say, Behold a man 
gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publi- 
cans and sinners." 

Thus when this society is said to have 1 
in view the removal of slavery, we hear 
the charge that it is inefficient, and worse than | 
useless : and if its friends disavow any direct 
interference with the subject, then the outcry 
against it is, that it winks at oppression and 
sanctions the sin ! 

The objection of its southern foes is surely a 
sufficient reply to that of its northern opponents. 
The fact too, that a large proportion of the col- 
onists at Liberia are emancipated slaves from 
the South, silences the charge that it rivets the 
chains of slavery. 

With regard to that count in the indictment 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 45 

which charges it with fostering the distinction 
between the black man and the white, it may 
thus be analyzed. The Colonization Society is 
a system of cruelty and oppression towards the 
FREE COLOURED PEOPLE, bccause it providcs 
for them a refuge from the unhappy influence 
(call it prejudice if you please) that depresses 
them, and separates them from their white 
brethren in the enjoyment of political and social 
privileges. What else can be made of the 
cavil ? Now suppose again, this society oblit- 
erated. Would this distinction between the 
black and the white cease ? Has it arisen from 
this Society ? No : for it is well known, that it 
was the existence of this very prejudice (if you 
choose so to call it) rendering the condition and 
prospects of the free colored man in this land so 
unhappy, that gave rise to the plans of this 
society. It originated in a benevolent design to 
remedy this very evil. 

But, says the objector, "To send them away 
to a heathen country is cruelty, and only serves 



46 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

to obstruct their elevation here, and maintain 
the distinction of colour." 

"But how else can you abolish the distinc- 
tion, and place them on a level with the rest of 
the community?" 

"By denouncing the sin or the prejudice, 
until it is annihilated." 

" But while this denunciation is in progress, 
and before the community are disposed to cower 
under it, must those who are willing and anxious 
to escape from the influence of this prejudice 
to a land where it is unknown, have no aid 
afforded them in accomplishing their wishes V* 

" No : this is cruelty — this is expatriation." 

The reader can judge of the force of such 
reasoning ; especially when he looks at it in con- 
nection with the fact, that in some of the aboli- 
tion publications, the numerous instances of 
emancipation of slaves by their masters with a 
view to their colonization, have been boastingly 
attributed to the influence of ahoUtion doc- 
trines ! ! 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 47 

Whatever be the origin or foundation of that 
feeling which in this country dooms the coloured 
man, whether bond or free, to obscurity and de- 
pression, be it just or unjust; no denunciation nor 
change of public sentiment on the subject of sla- 
very, vf'iM ever reach it. Swarthy andy«iV, as to 
complexion, will still continue to have their pe- 
culiar and distinctive meanings. It can no more 
be abolished, than the distinction of colour 
itself. The very experiment, to place the two 
classes whom nature has thus distinguished, on 
a level in social and domestick life ; overthrows 
the whole design by its disgusting influence. 
Its effect was strikingly exemplified a short 
time ago in the case of a zealous abolitionist, 
who had been declaiming on his favorite theme, 
in one of the villages in Pennsylvania. On taking 
his seat in a railroad car the next morning, the 
manager, either by accident or design, placed 
him in one where were tvjo negroes. The lec- 
turer immediately protested against the pro- 
ceeding, and refused to ride with them. When 



48 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

reminded of the principles he had advocated the 
evening previous, he became quite angry, and 
persisted in claiming his privilege to sit apart 
from the negroes. 

And this is not mere prejudice, any more than 
the preference of one human form to another 
under any other circumstances ; or than the 
preference of a rose to Si poppy. 

" De gustibus non est disputandura." 

These social restrictions are not confined to 
the African. Similar feelings are cherished 
towards the Indian, and the South Sea Islander. 
It does not arise from any obliquity of moral 
feeling. For the distinction is in perfect accord- 
ance with humane and even Christian princi- 
ples of regard and esteem. It never was the 
design of Christianity to destroy all distinctions 
in society. The master may feel towards and 
treat his servant as a Christian, though he may 
not admit him to the intimacies and privileges 
of a child. We may as well talk of amalga- 
mating the relation of master and servant, as 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 49 

amalgamation on this point. The apostle Paul, 
in his letter to Philemon, recognizes his proper- 
ty in Onesimus as his servant, though both 
master and servant were Christians. 

These remarks on colonization and the ob- 
jections raised against it, though protracted 
beyond my intention, afford a mere glance at 
the subject, which the reader will find satisfac- 
torily presented in detail in the society's publi- 
cations. From the correspondence between 
the colonists and their former masters, in which 
they express their contentment and happiness, 
will be found ample refutation of the calumnies 
thrown upon them by the enemies of this cause. 
And it will be seen also, on referring to these 
documents, that very much, . if not all the dis-» 
content which may have been manifested by 
some, was the result either of direct or indirect 
interference, on the part of these enemies to 
produce it. 

From this cursory glance, however, it must 

be apparent, that hostility against this cause 
5 



50 IMMEDIATE RESTITUTION. 

has no tendency to remove the evil of slavery , 
any more than denunciation of the sin in the 
abstract. 

Still more rash, and not more effectual is the 
attempt to turn the current of popular feehng 
against slavery by the loud cry of immediate 
restitution of the wrongs of the slave, accom- 
panied by exaggerated, if not false, representa- 
tions of those wjongs through the medium of 
pictorial and other descriptions. The walls of 
Jericho were once prostrated with an outcry ; 
but it was by the express command of Jehovah, 
and not without His special and miraculous 
aid. 

But the age of miracles has passed away ; 
and if it had not, we know of no similar com- 
mand on this subject ; and consequently there 
is no certainty, and I may say no probability, 
that the professed wishes of the advocates of 
immediate abolition, will in this way be ful- 
filled. 

The walls of tlie temple of freedom — the 



IMMEDIATE RESTITUTIOlf . 



5f 



great charter and constitution of our liberties : 
may be crushed by the means, after a long and 
bloody scene of civil and domestick warfare, 
and perhaps, the utter extermination of the poor 
slaves themselves; and theyvv^ho shall have 
been the instigators and promoters of the ruin, 
may stand as horror-stricken as did the v^^oman 
of Endor at the result of her incantations. 

But this is not the professed object of their 
desires and plans. Why then attempt to ac- 
complish it in a way that can end only in revo- 
lution and carnage? The rumblings of the 
storm are already heard : why persevere in the 
mad attempt to exterminate the wheat and tares 
together ? 

The cry for immediate restitution is founded 
in error. Though the purpose of such resti- 
tution ever attends genuine repentance, it can 
be of little avail to enjoin it, much less to en- 
force it (so far as moral reformation is con- 
cerned) where repentance is wanting. And 
even where the spirit of penitence is found, 



53 IMMEDIATE RESTITUTION. 

immediate restitution is, not always safe nor 
practicable. Many cases might be adduced to 
shew that its immediate performance would 
not only defeat itself, but promote the injury of 
the person to whom the restitution should be 
made : as in the case of a lunatic, or an idiot. 

Suppose an individual who by fraudulent 
means has obtained from his neighbour a yalu- 
able watch, becomes penitent for his fault, and 
disposed to make ample restitution. On visiting 
his neighbour for that purpose, however, he dis- 
covers him to be in a state of mental hallucination, 
to which he is at times known to be subject; and 
he is assured that if he should at that time deliver 
to him the watch, he would instantly dash it in 
pieces, and withal, have no correct understand^ 
ing of the object of his visit. Most clearly it 
is not his duty then to make the restitution. 

And with regard to the overwrought descrip- 
tions which have been employed to depict the 
horrors of slavery : it i§ an expedient itself at 
variance with the moral law. We msyfanci/ 



EXAGGERATED DESCRIPTIONS. 63 

scenes of horror ; and in the fervor of a heated 
imagination cry out for the cause of hberty. 
But to employ fancy sketches, or even real 
instances of cruelty and suffering, to exhibit the 
general character of slavery at the South and 
West, is to pourtray injustice by injustice ; and 
when the misrepresentation is brought to light, 
to obstruct and defeat the very object for which 
the portraiture was drawn. 

The writer has had some opportunities to 
observe personally the character and operation 
of slavery^ in one of the States where it exists, 
and to learn its peculiar features in other por- 
tions of the South and West, from respectable 
and intelligent individuals and families from 
those regions ; and he has not been able to dis- 
cover that cruelty is a predominant feature of 
slave-holders in the treatment of their slaves* 



* " John Randolph of Roanoake would be delayed a 
week from Congress, that he might distribute winter cloth- 
ing to his slaves with his own hands. He said they could 
not be placed in a better condition than they then enjoyed, and 

6* 



64 EVILS OP SUDDEN ABOLITION. 

On the contrary, with the exception of the 
traffick, and the unhappiness and separations 
attending it ; and the legal restrictions im- 
posed on them ; the slave population of 
those States are as comfortable, if not more 
so, than an equal number of the poor and 
labouring classes in any community ; and more 
happy than the mass of the free coloured pop- 
ulation. So much so, at least, that to turn them 
adrift on the ocean of life at once, to take care 
of themselves, would be cruelty far surpassing 
any treatment which most of them now receive. 

A large proportion of the slave population 
is composed of old and decrepid men and wo- 
men and young children ; and a considerable 
portion of those who are actiye and useful, are 
no better than children in the matter of provid- 
ing for themselves. Numbers of them, too, 

that he would gWe five hundred pounds to know how they 
could be kept in as good condition after his death." (Tes- 
timony of H. Randolph, Jr. in the Randolph Will case.) 



EVILS OF SUDDEN ABOLITION. 55 

are quite unprofitable to their masters, from a 
natural deficiency of energy and skill ; requir- 
ing a constant superintendence and guardian- 
ship in their labour. 

When once emancipated, there would be no 
obligation on the part of their previous owners 
to hire or employ any but the able-bodied and 
industrious, or those, in other words, who were 
worth employing. 

And what would be the effect upon the great 
body of the slave-population, to be thrown, in 
this heterogeneous, crude state, as paupers upon 
the community ? The following letter of the 
late President Madison, may serve to throw 
some light upon this question. 

(From the New York Times.) 

Richmond, March 23, 1836. 
To the Editor of the Richmond Register : 

Sir — You expressed a wish to obtain information in rela. 
tion to the history of the emancipated Blacks in Prince 
Edward. I presume, those emancipated by the late Rich- 
ard Randolph, more especially. 

More than twenty-five years ago, I think, they were hb- 
erated, at which time they numbered about one hundred, 



56 EVILS OF SUDDEN ABOLITION. 

and were settled upon small parcels of land of from ten to 
twenty-five acres to each family. As long as the habits of 
industry which they had acquired while slaves, lasted, they 
continued to increase in numbers, and Uved in some degree 
of comfort. But this was soon lost, and the most of those 
who had been in slavery, having either died, or become old 
and infirm, a new race, raised in idleness and vice, sprung 
up. They began not only to be idle and vicious ; but to 
diminish instead of increasing ; and have continue'd to 
diminish in numbers very regularly every year : and that 
too, without emigration. For they have, almost without 
exception, remained together in the same situation where 
they were first placed, to this day. Idleness, poverty, and 
dissipation, are the agents which continue to diminish their 
numbers, and to render them wretched in the extreme, as 
well as a great pest, and heavy tax upon the neighbourhood 
in which they five. There is so little of industry, and so 
much of dissipation amongst them, that it is impossible that 
the females can rear their children : of which, indeed, their 
dissolute habits prevent thein from having but few.— 
The operations of time, profligacy, and disease, more than 
keep pace with any increase among them. Whilst they 
are a very great pest, and heavy tax upon the community, 
it is most obvious that they themselves are infinitely worsted 
by the exchange from slavery to liberty, if indeed their con- 
dition deserve that name. 

Jaimes Madison. 

The changes are constantly rung upon the 
word liberty : and it expresses indeed an inesti- 
mable blessing. But the liberty which we esteem, 



OTHER RESTRICTIONS OF CIVIL LIBERTY. 57 

is widely different from that which immediate and 
unconditional emancipation would yield to its 
subjects. Nor is the withholding or depriving of 
civil liberty, under all circumstances except for 
crime, a moral wrong or sin. It is often neces- 
sary for the general good, that individuals should 
suffer in this respect. As in the case o^ jurors 
on trials for capital offences : — in times of pes- 
tilence, to secure medical and other aid for the 
sick : — in time of., war, to obtain a sufficient 
military force, &c. &c. And it is well known 
that individual rights are daily sacrificed to the 
public good, in the progress of municipal and 
other internal improvements. So also, it might 
not be difficult to shew, that a suitable regard 
to the welfare of society, forbids the immediate 
and unconditional liberation of the slaves, and 
requires that they be retained in servitude, until 
they shall be properly fitted to meet and sustain 
the cares, as well as to value the blessings of a 
state of freedom. That it is the interest as well 
as the duty of slave-holders to commence this 



58 AN EFFICIENT RULE. 

work of preparation without delay, will, it is 
presumed, not bo denied. It must be stated, 
however, that some of the advocates of imme- 
diate emancipation modify the term ; and ex- 
plain it to mean an immediate and universal 
denunciation of the whole system of slavery, 
for the purpose of influencing publick senti- 
ment and awaking publick indignation against 
it ; which is in substance the same spirit and 
design on which I have just animadverted. 

In addition to what has been advanced, the 
writer would remark, that there is a rule which 
never fails when applied, to determine any 
question of duty between man and his fellow 
man: and in conclusion, will the reader indulge 
him in its application to the question of slavery? 
The rule is this: ^'Whatsoecer ye would that 
men should do to you, do ye even so to them." 
This rule, it should be observed, regards man 
as he is, not as he ought to be ; i. e. it is to be 
adopted and acted on in the present circum- 
stances of mankind. In seeking the best meth- 



MISTAKEN POLICY. 59 

od of remedying the evils of slavery then, so 
far fronn denouncing the slave-holder, and, un- 
der the influence of party zeal, demanding un- 
conditional and immediate emancipation, reck- 
less of consequences ; we must first, in imagin- 
ation, place ourselves in the stead both of the 
master and the slave. As was remarked in 
the commencement of this essay, we must first 
look at the evil in its true nature and extent. 
We must have in view the welfare of both 
parties. The method which will banish sla- 
very consistently with this, we may be sure is 
the proper method. 

Here, then, it is believed, has been a radical 
mistake in the movements of those who are 
popularly styled " abolitionists J^ Instead of 
adopting the rule just stated ; they have 
pursued a policy, and manifested a spirit, 
which have very justly spread the sentiment 
throughout the slave-holding population of the 
South and West, that they are seeking the 
mere emancipation of the slave, not only with- 



60 MISTAKEN POLICY. 

out any regard to the interests and welfare of 
his master, but also regardless of the conse- 
quences to the slave himself! Whereas, the 
golden rule of equity requires that they should 
have sought, and made it apparent that they 
sought the welfare of both master and slave. 
The effect has been, as we all know, and as 
the most melancholy facts testify, to inflame the 
passions and rouse the prejudices of that whole 
community to such a degree, as not only to 
defeat the design of these movements, and bar- 
ricade all access to the mind and heart; but 
also to threaten a convulsion which will shake 
the pohtical fabrick of this great nation into 
atoms; unless the agents in this work shall 
seasonably discover that God's service does 
not require them to gather uptares,vfher\Xh.Qxe 
is any danger that they may root up also the 
wheat with them. 

Now the evil which we wish to abolish, has 
been through a long course of years, entailed 
upon our neighbours in the southern and west- 



THE RULE APPLIED. 61 

ern slave States, and many of them, I might 
say most of them, feel it to be a curse. And 
very gladly v^ould they have it removed imme- 
diately, could it be done v^^ithout bringing upon 
themselves and upon the slaves an accumula- 
tion of greater evils. They know the charac- 
ter of the coloured population, and they know 
the effects of premature steps in this matter. 
And when urged to immediate action on this 
subject, without regard to consequences and 
without preparation, the answer is obvious, and 
satisfactory to a reflecting mind, that " duty has 
no claims where both the right and the power 
to receive it, are wanting." " The door," say 
they, " is shut upon us here, nor could we open 
it, but by a violence destructive of public harmo- 
ny, and probably fatal to our national union."* 

Adopting the Saviour's rule, therefore, and 
avoiding those measures which serve only to 
exasperate the feelings, and arm the prejudices 



* African Repository, March, 1834. 

6 



62 THE RULE APPLIED. 

of the slave-holder ; we should, by a judicious, 
affectionate, and faithful exposure of the evil, 
endeavour to convince him, that slavery is at 
once a sin and a curse ; and that it ought to be 
abhorred and forsaken ; — that it is his interest 
to give his attention to the subject without 
delay. Placing ourselves as it were in his cir- 
cumstances, and desiring to promote his best 
interests, we should regard the perils necessa- 
rily resulting from the sudden liberation of so 
great a mass of men incapable of self-govern- 
ment, and influenced only by passion and re- 
venge ; and prppose those measures which 
would tend to fit them for self-government, by 
suitable instruction promoting mental exertion ; 
and by the inculcation of virtuous principles, 
accompanied with humane treatment, and the 
prospect of freedom at a proper time, perhaps 
purchased by themselves, on some plan of ap- 
prenticeship, either here or in Africa. "We 
would recommend the immediate relinquish- 
ment of the trafficky which leads to the separa- 



THE RULE APPLIED. 63 

tion of husbands and wives, parents and chil- 
dren — and the employment of'every means 
which would prepare the slave to enjoy and 
value his freedom, so soon as God in his provi- 
dence shall open a way for its accomplishment 
•in a proper manner : for which we should ear- 
nestly enquire of Him. 

These are the views which it is hoped our 
neighbours at the South and West will cherish 
towards this subject, and these the principles 
on which, it is believed, they will find it for their 
interest to act. It is worthy of notice, that pre- 
vious to the Northern abolition movements, the 
slave-holders of the South had emancipated 
many thousands of slaves, through the influence 
of the gospel and our free institutions alone.* 

Again, we should place ourselves, as it were, in 
the condition of the slaves ; and candidly weigh 
the consequences of being cast at once as pau- 
pers on the public support, without the knowledge 

* African Repository. 



64 THE RULE APPLIED. 

necessary to self-respect and control ; or if they 
possessed the means of supporting themselves, 
of being subjected to that depression which 
the distinction of colour connects with the pros- 
pects of the black man in this country. And 
with true sympathy and rational benevolence, 
we should endeavour to provide the necessary 
and effectual relief. The only practicable meth- 
od yet devised tt) meet this particular exigency, 
appears to be that afforded by the system of 
colonization. It has been hitherto approved 
by Heaven, and has shared its smiles ; and it is 
sanctioned by precedent in the history of the Di- 
vine administi'ation. For when Jehovah would 
effect the universal emancipation of his chosen 
people from Egyptian slavery, he effected it by 
bringing them out of the land of their captivity 
and colonizing their posterity in the land of 
their forefathers. And could we have the same 
certainty of immediate colonization^ it would 
afford at least a very strong inducement to as 
immediate emancipation. 



THE TRUE REMEDY. 65 

Above all, taking the same rule of equity as 
a guide, we should send to the slave-holder and 
the slave, the gospel or christ, which is the 
most efficient, if not the only remedy for the 
whole evil. We should send it, not obtru- 
sively, but in the spirit of kindness. I know 
that under the present excited state of feeling, 
in those regions, this is apparently almost im- 
practicable ; and the old legal restrictions on 
the subject of instructing the slaves, and other 
severe enactments, which were becoming obso- 
lete and inefficient, have been revived by the 
force of the excitement and rendered more 
rigorous. Yet the gospel is our only hope in 
this exigency. What else can avail us? Pub- 
lic opinion cannot remove the evil, unless we 
suppose such opinion to be universal, which is 
in substance supposing the evil removed. Before 
such sentiment can be universal, the consent of 
the slave-holders must be obtained. And how 
shall this be effected? Surely not by standing 

afar off from them, and in the midst of com- 
6* 



66 INEFFICIENCY OF OTHER MEANS. 

munities where slavery is unknown and even 
abhorred, denouncing it as sin in the sight of 
God, under any and all circumstances ; (a charge 
which is not true even in the case of taking 
human hfe by violence ;) and heaping upon the 
character of the slave-holder the most oppro- 
brious epithets; holding him up before the 
publick with a spirit which would let loose, if it 
could, the lightnings of heaven upon his head, 
as a " man-stealer," and an " inhuman wretch ;" 
*''the bristling and unprincipled slave-holder," 
and " the pro-slavery negro-hater." The very 
last of all measures, one would think, which a 
mind in the smallest degree acquainted with 
mankind, and desirous of success, would think 
of adopting. 

Nor can the power of legislation remove the 
evil, and compel the slave-holder to acquiesce ; 
unless indeed it be the legislation of the slave- 
holding States themselves. The general gov- 
ernment of this nation have no jurisdiction over 
it : and all attempts to induce it to assume such 



INEFFICIENCY OF OTHER MEANS. 67 

jurisdiction, must, and ought to be nugatory. 
It has, indeed, the legislative control of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia ; but this too, is restricted by 
good faith on the part of the nation, towards 
the States adjacent. 

The general government have no right, even 
virtually, by their operations in the District, to 
destroy that faith, any more than by granting 
chartered privileges to one institution, to virtu- 
ally annul or injure those previously granted to 
another. The wishes of the inhabitants of the 
District themselves are surely first to be con- 
sulted, if we would do to others as we would 
have them do to us. And next, the wishes of 
the inhabitants of the adjoining States, whose 
already chartered interests may be seriously 
affected by the act. 

Although the power exists, therefore, in Con- 
gress to legislate for the District, there are seve- 
ral questions to settle before it may be expedi- 
ent to exercise that power in the matter of sla- 
very. It could only serve to create an incon- 



68 EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 

venience in the intercourse between the inhab- 
itants of the District and their neighbours, while 
it would not remedy the evil. 

But beyond the District of Columbia, Con- 
gress have no power to touch the evil under 
consideration. And if the power existed, the 
question of expediency with regard to its exer- 
cise under present circumstances, would be 
solemn and momentous. A respectful regard 
to the petitions of the people, when properly 
presented, is doubtless their duty. But,' as to 
granting the prayer of such petitions, it is 
equally their right and their prerogative to deter- 
mine. The exercise of the power, if it existed, 
might rend asunder the constituent parts of this 
great republic ; but it would also as certainly 
and effectually terminate the efforts and the 
hopes of those who urge the application of this 
remedy to slavery, and would fix the evil be- 
yond our control. 

But make the slave-holder a Christian, and 
he will begin to feel the influence of gospel 



EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 69 

principles. This, as was observed, is already 
apparent in numerous instances. And Chris- 
tian slave-holders, (for notwithstanding the 
Shibboleth of a party on this point, I do not 
deem this phrase incongruous,) are availing 
themselves of the opportunity afforded by the 
Colonization Society, of emancipating their 
slaves consistently with their own and their 
neighbour's security, and the welfare of the 
slaves themselves. And the gospel would en- 
join their emancipation on no other conditions, 
according to the rule already stated. 

Every measure which tends to inflame the 
passions of the master and lead him to sin 
against the slave, either by an increase of rig- 
our, or a premature discharge, is inconsistent 
with its spirit. And every measure which 
would make the slave sin against the master, 
either by a desertion from his service, or by 
violence against his person and property, is 
equally so. When the illustrious forerunner 
of the Saviour was accosted bv certain sol- 



70 EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL, 

'^diers who were under bonds as rigorous and 
oppressive as any slave, and had as great temp- 
tations to desertion — " Master, what shall we 
do ?" — did he encourage them to attempt their 
escape, and in the spirit of some professed 
Christians in modern times, dsnounce those 
who held them in servitude ? Far from it. — 
" Do violence to no man, and be content with 
your wages." But was this winking at their 
oppression ? 

And what say the Apostles of Christ? — 

" Servants, be obedient unto them that are 
your masters according to the flesh." 

" Servants, be subject to your masters with 
all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but 
also to the froward." 

Here we find no insurrection nor desertion 
inculcated. 

"Masters, give unto your servants that 
which is just and equal, knowing that ye also 
have a Master in heaven." 

"Let as many servants as are under the 



EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 71 

yoke, count their own masters worthy of all 
honour." " And they that have believing mas- 
ters, let them not despise them, because they 
are brethren." 

It should be remembered that these precepts 
were given under the existence of the Roman 
laws, by which slaves^ were bought and sold, 
as any other commodity ; and under which, they 
were treated with far more rigour and severity 
than any in modern times. But where do we 
find the apostles denouncing the relation be- 
tween the master and slave ? On the contra- 
ry, the Apostle Paul alludes to the custom of 
the country on this subject as an illustration of 
the Christian's redemption, when he says, " Ye 
are bought with a price." They found the 
political institutions of the country established ; 
nor did they attempt to interfere with them, 
except by inculcating the pure and perfect 
principles of the gospel of Christ. 

Thus the Jewish lawgiver also found slavery 
and polygamy established ; but instead of at- 



T§ EFFICACY OP THE GOSPEL. 

Hacking them by force, and violent denuncia- 
lion, he proceeded as was mos=t prudent, to reg- 
ulate and mitigate what he could not control. 
Thus, too, if we would labour successfully in 
redeeming our own happy land from the sin 
and curse of slavery and other national sins, 
we must make the gospel our guide. 

Make the slave a Christian^ and he will be 
prepared for freedom. The gospel has effected 
this, and it will continue to produce the effect, 
just as rapidly as it reaches the hearts of the 
master and the slave. This alone, through the 
attendant power of the Divine Spirit, can make 
man what he ought to be under any circum- 
stances. 

It may indeed be said that the gospel has not 
produced emancipation in the Southern States 
in proportion to its extent; and that many 
slave-holders prevent their slaves from receiv- 
ing it. 

The same might be said of every commu- 
nity in Christendom; that many still remain 



EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 73 

uninfluenced by the gospel, and hate and reject 
it. Nor has it been the instrument of conver- 
sion to all the heathen who have received it 
In many parts of the pagan world it is inter- 
dicted by law, and all who promulgate it are 
subjected to the severest penalties. 

And even in not a few of the highly favoured 
communities of New England, may be found 
those, who wilfully exclude themselves and their 
families from many, if not all of the means of 
salvation. But the truth stands unaltered, that 
the gospel is their only hope. 

So also notwithstanding the objection, is it 
the only effectual remedy for slavery. This, 
under the blessing of Jehovah, will liberate both 
master and slave from the captivity of sin and 
Satan, and fit them to discharge their respective 
duties according to " the perfect law of liberty," 
Then there could be no danger from immedi' 
ate emancipation. 

It is worthy of notice here, that the dreadful 
massacre at Southampton a fewyeara since, 



n 



EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 



was the result oi fanaticism. Its instigator 
dreamed that it was the will of God that he 
should devise the scheme. Had his mind been 
enlightened in the knowledge of gospel princi- 
ples, that melancholy event would doubtless not 
have stained our annals. 

It is the gospel alone that can render those 
colonies which have been planted on the coast 
of long neglected and injured Africa, and those 
which shall hereafter be formed there, a bless- 
ing to that land. And it is the duty, and I trust 
the design, of those who are engaged in this 
benevolent enterprise, to make each colony a 
bright centre of radiation, from which the beams 
of gospel truth may extend their healing and 
saving influence. And with this design in view 
their cause will triumph. This, it is believed, ' 
was the high and holy purpose of its original 
patrons. 

" The year 1792 was rendered memorable 
by the establishment of the colony of Sierra 
Leone, and, in connexion with that, the adoption 






EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 76 

of a system of measures in behalf of enslaved 
Africa, which, we have reason to hope, will 
eventuate in her complete emancipation." — 
" The flourishing colony already opens a wide 
door for the introduction of Christianity and 
civilization into the heart of Africa : and recent 
information inspires the hope, that the Ameri- 
can Colonization Society is about to obtain 
firm footing in that land of darkness, and to 
plant there a vine whose branches shall spread 
far and wide, over those regions of desola- 
tion."* 

Again — " One of the most delightful, benevo- 
lent, and ennobling hopes that ever animated the 
bosom of an American patriot, is, that the west- 
ern coast of Africa will yet be fringed with 
American colonies ; and that, under the influ- 
ence of their happy example, the governments 
of all that benighted continent will come to be 



* Sermon on the last Sabbath of the year 1822, by R«t. 
Joel Hawea, Hartford. 



76 EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 

modeled after the precious free institutions of his 
own beloved country. JMust this hope, that Afri- 
ca may be thus Americanized, be extinguished ? 
Must the lights which American patriotism 
and piety have for fifteen years been kindling 
up on that dark coast — lights, on which the 
philanthropy of the world has fixed its gaze, 
and to which the eyes of thousands and tens 
of thousands of native Africans are already 
turned with joyful hope — must these lights be 
put out forever ? Must humanity fail of reap- 
ing a bright harvest from the precious seed 
which has been sown there at so great an ex- 
pense of treasure and life ? To all these inqui- 
ries the Anti-slavery society makes an affirma- 
tive answer; and manifests, in doing so, the sad 
effects of party spirit on thft- good men who 
give tone to the society. The benevolent men 
who lead the Anti-slavery Society, once had 
sympathy for Africa. Where is it now ? How 
little evidence of its continued existence in the 
proceedings and organs of that society ! How 



EFFICACY OF THE GOSPBL. 77 

nttle in the conversation and prayers of its mem- 
bers ! With colonization, designed to strew the 
richest blessings among the millions of Africa, 
they have nothing to do — save to oppose it 
with all their might, — and this too, for no better 
reason, than because they are burning with 
hatred towards the agents who carry it on." 

" Again we entreat these unrelenting enemies 
of the Colonization Society to revise their judg- 
ment against it; peradventure they may be 
moved, in view of the unreasonableness, vin- 
dictiveness, and severity of that judgment, to 
reverse it. But if they shall still be inexorable 
to our calls on their justice and their Christian 
sympathy and forgiveness ; if they shall still 
persist in demanding the unconditional destruc- 
tion of the society ; and if nothing short of 
this can appease thbir implacable malevolence 
towards it : then let them know that its friends 
are as determined as its foes. Our determina- 
tion is fixed — fixed as the love of God and the 
>7* 



78 EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 

love of man in our hearts — that the Coloniza- 
tion Society, under the blessing of Him who 
never even *for a small moment has forsaken* 
it, shall 'continue to live ; — and to livottoo, until 
the vrrongs of the children of Africa amongst 
us are redressed; until the slave-trade has 
ceased, and the dark coasts which it has pol- 
luted and desolated for centuries, are over- 
spread with the beautiful and holy fruits of 
civilization and the Christian religion. And 
as we fear the judgments of heaven on those 
who commit great sin, so we dare not desert 
the society, and leave Satan to rejoice over the 
ruin of all this * work of faith and labour of 
love.' "* 

One of our most eminent statesmenf remarked 
that " the Colonization cause must prosper, for 
it unites religion with patriotism, humanity with 
justice and safety." 



• Sentiments of Gerrit Smith, Esq., 1834. 
t The Hon. Henry Clay. 



EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 1^ 

It has already been shewn that this remark 
is justified in the history of the colonists them- 
selves, one fourth of whom are professors of 
religion. And the object of the society, in the 
language of one of its recent advocates, ** is 
by means of the colored people in this country, 
to Yihex^ie fifty millions of souls from the most 
appalling rites of the bloodiest superstition, and 
make them free indeed ; and likewise to intro- 
duce amongst them the blessings of civilization 
and free government. It is not merely to find 
a more comfortable residence for the free peo- 
ple of colour; it is to endeavour to secure an 
eternal residence in heaven for the wicked, 
wretched, degraded African. I do not look 
upon the African in this country as a mere 
slave ; I see in him an apprentice brought fi*om 
a land of superstition and despotism, to learn 
the principles of religion and liberty ; I see 
in him a person schooled for the benefit of his 
country, and the improvement of his specie! ; 
and whose business and glory it will be to 



80 EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 

regenerate his native land." " Is it not cause 
for regret, if not wonder, that there should 
be a Christian or a man who will not aid 
this, of all others, the noblest benevolence of 
modern days !"* 

The fact that in Africa there are not the 
obstacles in the way of the gospel that impede 
its progress in other heathen lands — no caste 
— no ancient institutions — no unchangeable 
laws — no material idolatry — affords special en- 
couragement to the friends of colonization to 
aim principally at its evangelization. ' 

And,ln conclusion, I would repeat the re- 
mark, that this result should be the first object 
of the friends of the coloured bond-servants in 
America ; and especially of those by whom 
they are held in bondage, viz. : to make them» 
under God's blessing, the 

' — " freemen whom the truth makes free." 



.- * Speech of Capt. R. F. Stockton at the meeting of the 
Colonization Society, Trenton, N. J., Feb. 1837. 



EFFICACY OP THE QOSPEl. 81 

Let the slave-holder take as his guide, that 
heavenly rule of equity, which has already 
been quoted, and applied to this subject. Let 
him contemplate in the slave committed to his 
care, not only a fellow man, but a spirit im- 
mortal, destined alike with himself, soon to 
commence the " travel of eternity.'* And thus 
viewing its character, let him become to the poor 
benighted soul that is toiling away its probation 
in his service, a ministering angel of mercy, by 
giving to it without delay, the light and the 
consolations of the glorious gospel of the 

BLESSED GOD. 

" Inform his mind ; one flash of heavenly day. 
Would heal his heart, and melt his chains away. 
♦ Beauty for ashes ' is a gift indeed, 
And slaves by truth enlarged, are doubly freed ; 
Then would he say, submissive at thy feet, 
While gratitude and love made service sweet, — 
' • My dear deliverer out of hopeless night, 
Whose bounty bought me but to give me light, 
I was a bondman on my native plain. 
Sin forged, and Ignorance made fast the chain : 



82 EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL. 

Thy lips £ave shed instruction as the dew, 
^Taught me what path to shun, and what pursue. 
Farewell, my former joys ! I sigh no more 
For Africa's once loved, benighted shore ; 
Serving a benefactor, I am free ; 
At my best home, if not exiled from thee !' " 

Thus with the gospel operating upon the 
hearts of both the slave-holder and the slave, 
we may hope, most effectually to promote 
their preparation, not only for th3 dissolution 
of the bonds of domestick slavery as it exists 
in our happy country ; but also for their be- 
cominsr, under God, the honoured instruments 
of rekindling the light of science and civiliza- 
tion on that distant continent, and spreading 
over it the fertility, beauty, and happiness, 
which are the fruits of a pure Christianity. 
This will be, in the broadest, noblest sense, 
" to loose the bands of wickedness — to undo 
the heavy burdens— to let the oppressed go 
free — and to break every yoke." 



W 73 







'• "^^ 



^"^^ 



v^^ 



o. **": 


















^ 









